U.S.: 70 Iraqis Killed in Airstrikes

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. helicopters and warplanes bombed two villages near the city of Ramadi, a hotbed of Sunni-Arab insurgents west of Baghdad, killing around 70 Iraqis, the military said Monday. The military said all the dead were militants, though witnesses said at least 39 were civilians.

The violence on Sunday occurred a day after Iraq voted on — and apparently passed — a landmark constitution that many Sunnis opposed. On referendum day, a roadside bomb killed five U.S. soldiers iin a vehicle in the Al-Bu Ubaid village on the eastern outskirts of Ramadi.

On Sunday, a group of around two dozen Iraqis gathered around the wreckage of the U.S. vehicle and were hit by the airstrikes by U.S. warplanes, both the military and witnesses said.

The military said in a statement that the crowd was setting another roadside bomb in the location of the blast that killed the Americans. F-15 warplanes hit them with a precision-guided bomb, killing around 20 people, described by the statement as "terrorists."

more;http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051017/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_airstrikes

let freedom ring... :(

on edit, right after I posted another headline popped up on yahoo...one word can make a difference.
U.S.: 70 Insurgents Killed in Airstrikes
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051017/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_

[ClintonTyree]

1. It's those new "smart" weapons the Pentagon spends.....

billions on. They can see right into a person's thoughts and destroy only those with "terra'" on their minds. Others who were merely curious about the wreckage were spared because they obviously didn't have "terra'" on their minds, they were just nosy.

Thanks god for our "smart" weapons. Where would we be without them? :shrug:

[Oversea Visitor]

2. Aaaah

Innocents curious Iraqies be warn.

Oh well military say they are setting bombs again wheee
Damn intelligent so good wheee

HOW COME YOU DUMB INTELLIGENT DIDNT SPOT THE BOMB AND % AMERICANS DIE>

[pinniped]

3. Totally fucking disgusting, they know there were civilians...

blown to bits.

Time and time again they lie about civilian casualties.

Well, I guess they really couldn't decide if they were Iraqis, these so-called insurgents, or so-called militants.

http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/search?p=70+&c=

The only thing everyone can agree on is there were 70 of them.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. So tell me grandpa Ibrahim.... what drove you to become a

terrorist.... what caused you to go to America and kill all those people..... circa 2017.

[cassiepriam]

5. Yes, this puts us in great physical danger. We should be very afraid.

Too late for our souls, they are already damned.

[oblivious]

6. A crowd of 24 people to set a roadside bomb????????

In exactly the same place the last bomb went off?

More like they got a new shipment of bombs in and dumped them on the first group of civilians they could find.

[PinkUnicorn]

7. That's the bit I can't work out...

A roadside bomb, usually deployed in a few minutes by 1-3 people, requires a small crowd of 24 to mill around long enough for an air strike to be called in.

I'm surprised they didn't say they killed 'Al Qaeda top men - Numbers 2-23' as well.

[lumpy]

14. Mad dogs. Killing indiscriminately

in pure revenge for the deaths of US soldiers by a roadside bomb. US military run amok.

[Name removed]

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[Nihil]

8. Got to keep those share prices going up you know!

> More like they got a new shipment of bombs in and dumped them on the
> first group of civilians they could find.

Someone was below quota on their "bomb consumption goal" so orders went
out to rectify the situation.

Besides, they've run out of bridges ...

[Roland99]

9. Were they all carrying their Insurgency Auto Club cards or something?

[leesa]

10. What...did they fail to vote??

[leftchick]

11. CIVILIANS.....

<snip>

But several witnesses and one local leader said the people were civilians who had gathered to gawk at the wreckage of the U.S. vehicle or pick pieces off of it — as often occurs after an American vehicle is hit.

The airstrike hit the crowd, killing 25 people, said Chiad Saad, a tribal leader, and several witnesses who refused to give their names fearing

The other deaths occured in the village of Al-Bu Faraj. The military said a group of gunmen opened fire on a Cobra attack helicopter that had spotted their position. The Cobra returned fire, killing around 10. The men ran into a nearby house, where gunmen were seen unloading weapons. An F/A-18 warplane struck the building with a bomb, killing 40 insurgents, the military said.

Witnesses said at least 14 of the dead were civilians. First, one man was wounded in an airstrike, and when he was brought into a nearby building, warplanes struck the building, said the witnesses, refusing to give their names for concern about their safety.

[Maeve]

12. And all 70 were the #2 in al-Q! eom

[ckramer]

13. And Americans asked "why do they hate us?"

Ha!

[Name removed]

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[Betty]

15. Yes, everyone we kill is an insurgent

always. Or a terrorist.

[confludemocrat]

16. See yet again why our "exit plan" should be immediate withdrawal?

Anyone who advocates a "thoughtful" exit plan rather than the "extreme" immediate withdrawal is party to war crimes. Longer we're there while "supporting our troops", the more they will be sent on "missions" like this. And my condolences to you if your mind can't process that reality.

[demobrit]

17. Army of occupation

How can an election be free and fair when an occupying force continues to kill and maim the occupied country`s citizens at will and without redress?
I find the whole siuation distasteful and sickening

[daleo]

18. They were probably just civilians, though sympathetic to the resistance

And the airstrike was pure vengeance.

How can you pretend to be liberating people if you are prepared to incinerate them with impunity?

[Name removed]

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[lebkuchen]

22. This is democracy?

[Darranar]

23. They bomb, then they label the corpses.

These people are nothing more than a gang of butchers and terrorists.

[killbotfactory]

24. Yeah, there are entire villages of just "Insurgents" lying around

these people make me sick